Shinfield Studios, the largest new film and television studio development in the UK, has announced it is nearing completion of its final phase of construction. There are now 13 soundstages available, with all 18 set to be open by early 2024.
Based near Reading in Berkshire, the facility already offers two of the largest, fully climate-controlled soundstages available in the UK at 43,000 sq ft each. As construction has progressed over the past two years, Shinfield Studios has hosted film and high-end-TV (HETV) productions from some of the largest media companies in the world including Disney, Sony and US streaming providers.
On completion, the studio campus will include 18 soundstages, 38 workshops, substantial and contemporary office space, and a nine-acre filming backlot.
“Shinfield Studios now looks just like the plans we put to paper several years ago. Not only does it feel like a slice of Hollywood in Berkshire, it also offers producers everything that we promised,” said Nick Smith, the Studios’ joint managing director. “That’s to say a modern studio facility that has been carefully designed from the ground-up to meet all the needs of the most ambitious film and HETV productions. We really have considered every detail.”
Ian Johnson, Smith’s companion joint managing director, added: “We had always planned for Shinfield Studios to make a significant contribution to both the UK creative industry and the community in Berkshire. As it visibly takes shape, we’re also working behind the scenes to bring a substantial and varied range of opportunities to local people. We’ve just begun taking our first steps tapping into the local community to build our own team, as well as contributing to industry efforts to develop skills and training opportunities through our work as a funding partner of Screen Berkshire.”
The facility has been constructed to BREEAM excellent standards, an internationally recognised sustainability assessment method for planning infrastructure and buildings. Throughout construction, an external consultant monitored and advised the team on a range of environmentally conscious measures including minimising waste, sourcing resources locally, where possible, and reducing transportation of materials.
Shinfield Studios is owned by US-based Shadowbox Studios, which develops, owns, and operates purpose-built, soundstage facilities. Its CEO, Peter Rumbold, said, “With the near completion of Shinfield Studios, we are thrilled to expand the Shadowbox platform in the UK, one of the world’s top film and television production markets. We are firm believers that best-in-class facilities in tier one markets will continue to see an outsize benefit from the secular shift toward streaming and our Shinfield facility was carefully designed to meet the most discerning production needs of our clients.”
